Fourth Anniversary Gifts

Each year, Andi and I attempt to follow the traditional gift guide to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It's definitely more challenging to come up with gift ideas for one another that correspond with the old-school list, but it's also fun to think outside the box and exchange gifts with a theme.

Last year was leather and I was left scrambling for ideas up until the end. Andi gave me a Kindle Fire which I use everyday, but sadly the flask I gave him is still sitting in his nightstand drawer unused. I kept up with the leather-bound daily journal I promised to write in for a few months, and off and on after that, but it was really a flop gift overall. Bummer. I vowed this year - Year Four - would be different, so I've been brainstorming gift ideas to give him for months. When I asked Andi if he had any anniversary gift ideas for me, he said, "What's the theme? Um, yep, got one."

For real? It's that easy, huh?

A gift of fruit or flowers - the traditional recommendation for the fourth anniversary - for a guy is HARD. I could think of a million different things I'd want as a gift that fell into those two categories (heck, I'd have been happy with a bouquet of flowers or even something like this flower necklace), but I couldn't very well give Andi roses and call it a day. After mulling over a million different options, I decided to give him a new Keurig machine which fits the theme because coffee beans are technically the pit of a coffee cherry fruit. Alright, I know this gift isn't very thrilling (it's about as exciting as receiving a vacuum for a present) but Andi does love coffee and our Keurig has been broken for months, so practical wins. 

Other gift ideas I thought about were:

• An Apple product -- but it turns out my husband already owns every single piece of Apple technology in existence today. 
• Dinner cooked by a private chef with fruit incorporated into the meal -- but at $350, I couldn't justify the cost.
• An espresso machine like the Nespresso U-- but Andi already has an espresso machine at his office and let's face it, we've got a newborn baby due soon and this mama's gonna need some coffee to stay alive.
• A bottle of booze -- whiskey is made of grain, for example, but I can't cop out and give Andi alcohol for every single holiday ... or can I?
• A Bonzai tree for his office desk -- boring and strange, can you tell I'm struggling here?
• Baking a fruit pie -- but we weren't even together on our actual anniversary date.

So - a coffee maker. I admit it, I stink at gift giving. Sorry, Andi.

For Year Four, Andi gifted me this cool framed piece of artwork he created. It's a Google Earth view of four special places in our relationship:

• We Met: The 16th Street Mall in Denver
• We Married: Noerenberg Gardens in Wayzata, Minnesota
• We Live: Our Twin Cities neighborhood
• We Play: Our Pipe Lake Cabin

What does the framed map art have to do with fruit or flowers? Nothing. Ha. I guess we both struggled with the theme this year. I do love my new frame and I know we'll both get a ton of use out of our new Keurig ... so, win/win in the end.